The Mysterious Case of the Woman Who Dissapeared Overnight
by TheTransfiguredCanary
Summary: Dipper returns to Gravity Falls to solve a hundred year old cold case. he gathers evidence with the help of some towns folk but the case becomes more and more confusing as the clues all point to a very dark family secret and a tale of tragedy and deception. In the background Dipper must learn to move past a tragedy in his youth with the help of his friends and family.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A/N: well hello my gravity falls fans! What's that you say, I don't really have gravity falls fans? I'm more of a Harry potter my little pony writer? This is really a first for me?

Yeah I know…

I shouldn't have watched the whole Gravity Falls series in one weekend…

But once this fic is done I'll probably be back to writing MLP and Harry potter stuff again, don't worry. In the mean time, pay attention, because there's quite a bit going on in the sidelines of this fic. ;)

* * *

Z semoceb A

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It was raining heavily one mid day when the tale P.I. stepped into his office. His secretary looked up and stood to follow him to his office with a worried look.

"There's a weird lady here to see you sir… I told her you weren't in but she insisted she be let into your office. She didn't leave a name. Said she would only speak with you…" the P.I. frowned.

"Did she seem untrustworthy?"

"No sir… just a bit paranoid…"

"It's all right Sammie… why don't you take the rest of the day off, you seem stressed." The receptionist gave her boss a relived grateful look and scampered off to leave. The P.I. looked at his office with a frown but entered anyway. In the office was a woman of medium height with honey colored hair with a very impressive diamond necklace. She was wearing a thick pair of sunglasses and a scarf over her head that hid all but her bangs. "Alright, I'm here but make it quick; I don't usually take assignments without an appointment."

"I hope you can help me. Every other P.I. I've gone to gave up after about a week… I'm looking for a distant relative of mine… it's a bit of a family secret so I'll hope you keep this in the family… the thing is, my major lead isn't in Los Angeles… it's not even in California… it's in a small town where my cousin lives." The P.I. grunted.

"Well I'm no slacker and I can't resist a good mystery… and I'm no stranger to relocating for an assignment. If you give me the names of your cousin's family I'll be happy to go to this town and find everything I can. And I promise you this will remain in your family."

"Thank you sir, you have no idea how much this means to me." The woman reached into her purse and pulled out a case file placing it on the desk before the P.I. "the case is almost a hundred and fifty years old and has been dead for over a century but I'm certain there's a way to solve it. It's about my great great great aunt…

 _Pacifica Northwest._

* * *

A motorbike whipped down an old forested highway, kicking up leaves in the late autumn as it went. As the driver sighted the water tower it sped up so that the words blurred into nothing. On down the road the bike traveled until it slowed to a moderate speed into the moderately sized town. Through the town the driver winded until it stopped before an old diner. There they slowed to a stop. With a sigh the driver chained their bike to the bike rack before removing their facemask and goggles but leaving their helmet on. The man looked around the town and grumpily stepped into the diner. He moved to the far booth and sat staring out the window at the local denizens that moved about.

"Hey there, can I get ya anything… hey you're new around here aren't ya?" a tall red head asked with a smile. The man stared at her in slight shock before nodding. Then he cleared his throat.

"Ah yes, can I have a cup of coffee and plate of toast with jam on the side please." The woman dropped her coffee pot in shock.

"My god… you sound just like…" the red head shook her head and looked down at the mess at her feet."Um right… coffee. Toast. I'll go make another pot…" with that she turned away but she glanced back at the man before dashing into the kitchen. The man lifted his collar after glancing around. The red head returned with his coffee and toast. He gave no verbal response of thanks instead mowing down on the food dodging the waitress's questions until she was called away by another patron. After she walked away the man quickly stood chugging his coffee and stuffing another piece of toast into his mouth before throwing twenty bucks on the table and dashing out despite the waitresses shouts. He quickly unchained his bike and pulled out of the diner's parking lot onto the town's streets. He stopped to open up a map only to curse as he realized the map was out of date and he would have to talk to someone to get directions. A cop cruiser pulled up to him as he stood surveying the map.

"Can I help you sir?" a gruff female voice asked.

"Grenda?" the man said without thinking in shock. The female cop in the car looked at him in confusion.

"Erm… do I know you?"

"Um no! No! Officer can you direct me to the Northwest residence? It is of the utmost importance that I speak with the Northwest family immediately." The cop looked at the man suspiciously before she looked at his map.

"Well this map is old. The Northwest's haven't lived on the hill in almost twenty years. They live here now." She said pointing at the map. "Just go down this road and take the first left."

"Thank you officer. Goodbye!" the man said before he careened off in the direction the cop had pointed. The woman looked after him with a harsh frown even as he whipped out of her sight. On the road the man groaned at his own foolishness but took the first left. He drove down the lane until he came upon a large gate with an intercom. At the buzzer he pushed the button and began to speak.

"I have an important matter to discuss with the Northwest family."

"We don't let just anyone in vagrant! Go away!" the snooty voice of a young woman cried over the intercom.

"It's about the woman who disappeared overnight." There was silence for a few minutes before the intercom crackled again.

"Keep your voice down sir, and come inside." Said a somewhat elderly man in a whisper. The gate slowly creaked open and the man drove down the driveway. Once inside the butler took with coat and gloves but he kept his helmet on again. In the parlor a young woman could be seen arguing with her aging father.

"But who is the woman who disappeared overnight?"

"It's nothing to concern yourself with!"

"But how do you know her?"

"Pacifica I order you-"

"It's your great great great aunt on your father's side, Pacifica Northwest the first." The man said, announcing his presence. The young blond with jewel earrings stared at her father in shock as the head of the Northwest family glared at the man angrily.

"Wha… what?!" the young woman asked in shock. Her father silenced her.

"You should have left well enough alone sir. You have just made a very powerful enemy…" the elderly gentleman threatened. The man just blinked at him.

"Hardly. I've had worse. I require any information you have about Pacifica the first." The elderly man scoffed.

"You won't be getting any from me. Leave now good sir, before I call the police." The man paused, thinking back to the policewoman before and shook his head.

"Fine… I'll look for information somewhere else. Thank you for your time Mr. Northwest." The man said before he swept out of the room and building. As he climbed onto his motorbike the young woman ran out of the house.

"Wait!" she cried out. The man paused and looked up to her. "I think I know where you can get some information… maybe a few places." The man looked her up and down before he scooted forward and, after giving the bike a wince she climbed on behind him. With a great push the bike roared to life and the pair began to careen down the road.

"So where are we headed?" the man shouted.

"McGucket Manor! On the hill" the woman responded over the roar of the bike. The man nodded before he revved the bike and blond held on for dear life as they careened through the town and up the hill to McGucket manor. There they screeched to a halt and the woman stepped off the bike shakily. When she stumbled the man grasped her arm to steady her.

"Sorry, I forget that some people aren't accustomed to motorbikes." He said apologetically. The woman shook her head.

"No no, I'm fine." The woman insisted before they turned to the gates. Once again the man walked up to the intercom.

"Yes… who is it?" a bland voice rasped out.

"I'm a private investigator; I'm investigating a case pertaining to the Northwest family. I was directed here for clues." The gate buzzed and the pair entered closing it behind them and walked up the driveway.

"Huh… it's weird walking up the driveway… I haven't been here since I lived here… almost twenty years ago…" the woman said with an absent minded glance of the gardens. The man beside her made a non-committal grunting noise before they reached the door and it was opened but a boring looking man in a suit.

"Hello… oh, Mrs. Northwest… what are you doing here?" the boring man asked with a suspicious inflection. The woman puffed up a bit, blushing.

"I'm assisted this man in a family matter, it led us here… I'm not trying to steal the manor back or anything…" the woman insisted. The well-dressed man merely grunted before turning away.

"Well, feel free to look around officer; just watch that Northwest, they have notoriously sticky fingers." The woman made a noise like an angry cat as the boring man walked away.

"Ooooo! That McGucket! You know he's not even the one who got the fortune! He inherited it from his father!" the woman said with her nose in the air. "I on the other hand have four successful fashion lines! I don't need sticky fingers! Such tendencies are beneath me! Come on, let's look around!" with that the woman all but dragged the P.I. down the hall.

* * *

The woman threw up another cloud of dust as she moved books about the ancient library.

"Ugh… nothing in here mentions anything about a Pacifica the first… I can't believe my parents named me after a family member that disappeared. What if she was murdered? Or kidnapped?" the woman grumbled as she lazily flipped pages of an old family accounting book.

"Wait! I think I found something!" the P.I. cried from the back of the library. He came out from behind the shelves with a leather bound book in one hand and stack of papers in the other. He sat at one of the tables while Pacifica hovered around him.

"What the… 13-25, 4-5-1-18-5-19-20, 16-1-3-9-6-9-3-1;? It's just a bunch of random numbers…"

"No, they're encrypted messages. That string of numbers reads 'My dearest Pacifica;' and you see the signature at the bottom?"

"Y.B.B-C… who's that?"

"I don't know but whoever it was… well it appears they cared about Pacifica as more than a friend." Pacifica stared at the string of numbers, impressed at how quickly the P.I. had decoded it. The P.I., as if psychic, laughed "When you work in my field you learn to recognize codes and ciphers rather quickly, they become second nature like another alphabet." The P.I. insisted before he tucked the sheets of paper into the leather journal. As he tucked it into his coat the woman was struck with a sense that she had seen this all happen before.

"Um… hey… I know this is weird but… have we met before?" she asked with a frown. The man stopped and looked around shiftily.

"Um, no… I don't think so; unless you've been to L.A. you might have seen my picture in the papers there… I'm quite a renowned P.I. back home." The man said shaking his head. The woman chuckled a bit before she looked down sadly.

"No then… I've always meant to leave Gravity Falls… to chase after… well to move on… but I can never seem to leave for good… something always pulls me back…" the woman said cryptically. The P.I. looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Who are you chasing?" the woman gave him a weary look and the man rose a hand to his face. "Sorry. My mother always said I had an unstable curiosity. I suppose that's what makes me such a good private investigator, but I forget that sometimes thing should stay just that, private." The woman gave him a thankful look.

"Sorry it's just… well it's very personal." She said quietly. The man shook his head.

"No no, I understand, everyone has baggage." With that the pair made their way out of the manor. The boring man watched as they went glaring at the woman warningly, her returning the glare full force.

"Ugh… I really don't like that guy… I don't think I've ever seen him smile you know that?" the woman said with a sneer up at the large mansion. The man just chuckled and shook his head. With another great kick the pair where traveling down the roads through town again.

"So where are we going?" the man asked.

"618 Gopher Road! It's called the mystery shack!" the woman cried over the roar. Suddenly the bike swerved into the other lane. A car honked as the man quickly got control of the bike again. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"There must have been something on the road." The man said shakily but he turned on the first left before the woman could even tell him to go down that way. She frowned further when the man turned down a little known road that cut the traveling time in half. After about ten minutes of winding through towering pines the pair screeched to halt in front of the tall wooden building. It looked a bit like a giant wooden tent surrounded by totem poles. The woman stepped off the bike and walked into the gift shop. The man stood for a second, staring up at the building. After a while he sighed and flipped his coat collar up.

"This is it?" the woman asked the elderly man who stood behind the counter with a maroon fez and bucked teeth.

"Afraid so, apparently he left specific instructions about what was to be destroyed and what was to be kept…" the man wearing the fez said with a shrug. The blond sighed.

"Well, maybe my friend will be able to sift through all the junk. Hey, come here!" the woman motioned to the P.I. He turned away from the cheap souvenirs and slowly stepped up to the box making sure not to look at the man in the fez.

"Hi there, I'm the owner of the mystery shack, I understand you're investigating some kind of mystery? Well you've come to the right place. This is a box of the old owner's brother's things. He was like, a huge mystery solver. I'm sure there's something in here that'll help." The man with the fez said. The P.I. didn't make a sound as he picked up a few notebooks and leafed through them. Suddenly the man tossed what he was holding aside and dug in vigorously before pulling out a strange weapon of some sort.

"I don't believe it! It's the ray gun! Ha! Never thought I'd see this again!" the P.I. said admiring the gun. He looked up and felt his face drain of blood. The fez wearing man was staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Mr. Ford?" he asked in shock. At that moment the P.I. did the only thing he could think to do. He swept his arm across the counter knocking the box, all of its contents, and the display to the floor with a crash before he turned and bolted. He ran to his bike but as he fumbled with the lock the blond dashed out the door with a bang so he vaulted over his bike, knocking it over in the process and dashed into the woods. As he was running he paid close attention to his surroundings.

"Alright! Let's see if I still remember! Okay, metal tree! Left!" he veered to the left and jumped over a fallen tree. "Stream!" he hopped over the stream "Ha ha, I still got it!" then he tripped and rolled down a hill, but stuck the landing and was up running again. "Okay maybe not!"

"Hey wait!" the woman cried from somewhere behind him in the woods.

"Aw fish guts!" the man cried looking back. It was then that he tripped over a tombstone. He tumbled through a bush, ripping his coat more before he smashed his shoulder on another tombstone with a grunt. His helmet flew off and rolled into a nearby grave somewhere. He sat there, panting, clutching his shoulder when a shadow loomed over him. The blond was standing over him panting.

"What was that? You just… oh my god…" the blond stared at him in shock. The man sighed, leaning against the tombstone, accepting his inevitable fate.

 _"Dipper?"_

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Dvoxlnv yzxp Wrkkvi


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Xis ytnewt Z eno A

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Dipper sighed.

"Hello Pacifica, long time no see." He said tiredly. Pacifica sputtered.

"That's it!? I haven't seen you in almost twenty years and you say 'long time no see'!?" she shouted angrily. Dipper slowly climbed to his feet, using the tombstone as a crutch. He looked at her for a few moments before he shrugged.

"Well what do you want me to say?" he asked.

"Something more substantial than 'long time no see'!" Pacifica yelled angrily.

"Hey!" a rough voice called. A man in a black suit was walking towards them. "I don't mind if teenagers come and quietly loiter around but keep it down! You'll wake the dead!"

"Go away Valentino!" Pacifica shouted angrily.

"Yeah Robbie, stay out of this!" Dipper shouted angrily. The man blinked.

"Whoa… Dipper is that you?" Robbie asked in shock. Dipper growled before he pulled Pacifica by the out of the cemetery and back towards the mystery shack.

"This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. All these people swarming me will hinder my investigation." Dipper complained as he clamored ahead of Pacifica through the brush. Pacifica stopped and scoffed.

"Well maybe they wouldn't have to swarm you if you hadn't just disappeared one day!" Dipper paused and glanced back.

"I didn't disappear, I left…"

"In the middle of Stanley's funeral…" Pacifica murmured quietly. Dipped froze before he began stomping forwards leaving Pacifica behind. The blond groaned skyward.

"Ugh! Men!" she huffed before he hurried after him.

* * *

"Dude, this is just insane! God I haven't seen you in almost twenty years… you sound juts like-" Soos began with a wide awed expression. Dipper grumbled.

"Yes, I know who I sound like." Dipper said quietly. With that an awkward silence settled over Dipper, Pacifica and Soos. After a few seconds Soos chuckled.

"On the plus side at least we can't pick on you because of your voice anymore." Soos tried weakly. Dipper just stood and straightened his trench coat.

"Well… in a way my cover being blown is a good thing. I had no idea where I was going to sleep tonight. Do you mind if I take the attic room?" Dipper asked. Soos shook his head rapidly.

"No dude! That room is yours and Mabel's. I'd never touch it!" Soos said adamantly. Dipper stood abruptly and made his way up to the attic room. Pacifica and Soos watched him disappear and heard the sound of his boots thumping up the stairs. "Aw geez… it doesn't matter what I say I guess…" Pacifica shook her head.

"No… it's just family… don't mention Mabel, or the Stan twins… or his parents probably…" Pacifica and Soos where silent as the contemplated all that had changed in the last twenty years. "God what happened to them?"

"What do you mean?" Soos asked. Pacifica sighed.

"Dipper and Mabel used to be the closest siblings in gravity falls… probably in Oregon State… what happened… that day at Stan's funeral… what changed?" Pacifica asked no one in particular. Soos sighed.

"After Ford died Mr. Pines and Dipper were really close. In high school Mabel was poplar and excitable and she had lots of friends… but Dipper just didn't fit in… so I guess they drifted apart then… but when Mr. Pines died… I think Dipper felt that Mr. Pines was the only one who understood… no one but Mabel knows what happened that day. She was the last one to see him before he disappeared and she's never spoken about it since… she hasn't visited in a few years but she still send cards on birthdays and around Christmas, but Dipper… well I'm sure you heard the rumors that some people thought he was dead." Soos said thoughtfully. Pacifica nodded.

"Yeah, who hadn't heard those rumors… but he's back now… even if its jus for a case he's back in Gravity Falls…" Pacifica said hopefully. Soos smiled.

"Yeah, here's hoping being back will liven the dude up!" Soos said happily. Pacifica looked out to the golden trees as the sun began to set.

"I better go, it's almost dark. I'll be here tomorrow, tell Dipper to wait for me if he wakes up before I get here." Pacifica said as she stepped out of the shack.

"Will do Ms. Northwest!" Soos cried after her before he closed the shop.

* * *

Pacifica made her way up the steps of the mystery shack with a yawn after her walk through the foggy forest. As she pushed open the door to the kitchen where Dipper was reading more of the letters they had found in McGucket manor. Pacifica cleared her throat. Dipper merely nodded before going back to the letters.

"So, what's in the letters?" Pacifica asked.

"That's what has me puzzled. These ones here, that use a number substitution key, are easy enough to decipher as love letters but then the code changed. The cipher is new to me… but I think I know what it is. I'll need to get to the library sometime today to cement my findings." Dipper said before tucking the letters back into his journal and tucking that back into his coat. Pacifica sighed. She really wanted to discuss something other than the case. But Dipper was being exceptionally brisk.

"Can we at least stop for coffee first, I don't know about you but I don't usually get up till ten… it's eight in the morning… on a Saturday." Pacifica complained. Dipper just rolled his eyes.

"Fine, let's go to the diner… even though Wendy works there now… by the way how long has she worked there? And since when was Grenda a cop? Last I heard she was still dating that Hungarian prince." Dipper said as he stepped out of the shack with Pacifica. She laughed.

"Grenda broke up with him years ago. Said he was too much of a lightweight for her. Wendy got a job with Susan just after high school. Susan gave her the place when she retired." Pacifica said watching as Dipper unchained his bike. "Can I ask how long you've had that bike?"

"Beautiful isn't she. I built her myself. I bought all the parts working odd jobs. She can go from 0 to 120 in about eight seconds." Dipper said climbing onto the bike with a smile before he put his goggles in place. "Never felt right not wearing a helmet but I have a feeling it's buried under six feet of dirt by now and I don't know about you but I don't want grave robbing on my rep sheet." Pacifica laughed before climbing on behind him. With a roar the pair whipped down the road until they screeched to a halt at the diner.

"Your wheel is squeaky…" Pacifica commented.

"I know, I forgot to oil her up before I left." Dipper said with a wince and sigh. Dipper chained his bike up before the pair walked into the bar and sat at one of the booths. A tall girl with long black hair walked up to them.

"What d'ya want?" she asked with a snap of her gum.

"Good service." Pacifica muttered under her breath. The teen sneered at them.

"Two coffees." She said before she walked away. Dipper looked after her.

"Who is that?"

"Rosetta Valentino, Robbie's daughter." Pacifica said as she leaned back into the booth. Dipper leaned back to. Suddenly a fist whipped out of nowhere and punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What the-" above him was Wendy Corduroy.

"That's for not saying hi before jerk!" she said with her hands on her hips. But she was smiling wide. "Where you been man? I haven't seen you in forever!" Pacifica scooted over so that Wendy could sit down across from him.

"I've been busy…" Dipper insisted awkwardly. Wendy frowned.

"To busy to send a postcard? We were really worried about you man…" Wendy said quietly. Dipper just checked his watch.

"The library is opening soon; we should get going, come on Pacifica." Wendy glared.

"Hey! You can't just walk away; it was like you were trying to forget us." Wendy shouted. But she paled when Dipper stared at her. He was looking at her with a harsh cold frown.

"Let go of my arm please Wendy." Dipper said with a slight growl. Pacifica and Wendy stared at him until Wendy let go and Pacifica stood to follow him as he swept out of the diner. He went straight to his bike, ignoring the many townsfolk that waved at him happily.

"Coming here was a mistake." Dipper muttered darkly. Pacifica just looked down at him with heartbreak.

"Were you?" she asked quietly.

"Was I what?" Dipper snapped angrily. Pacifica stared at him with tears in her eyes.

"Were you trying to forget us?" she asked quietly. Dipper clenched his fists before he turned around, anger burning in his eyes.

"Yes! All right! I was! I never wanted anything to do with anything in this town ever again! Is that such an awful thing? This town gave me nothing but misery. I washed my hands of it." Dipper shouted angrily. Pacifica just stood there in shock.

"But what about your summer…" Pacifica started weakly.

"The summer is over." Dipper said viscously making Pacifica whimper slightly. She said nothing as Dipper unchained his bike. Suddenly the quiet of the town was broken through by the squeal of tires. Dipper and Pacifica looked as quite suddenly a pink limousine came barreling down the streets. It squealed to a halt in front of the pair, who noticed that the limo had kitten decals on it. The driver rushed out of the car to open the door but the door burst open, knocking him to the ground with an audible 'oof'. Out of the car stepped a somewhat tall woman with brown hair caught in a high ponytail, ears dripping with sapphires, and a red sweater that read in thick black letters 'I AM AN ANGRY WOMAN! GET OUT OF MY WAY!' she was breathing heavily with a viscous snarl of her face.

"DIPPER PINES!" she screamed "WE NEED TO TALK!" she stomped right up to him and stood for a few seconds before her face broke into a wide smile. "But first we hug." With that she encompassed a shocked Dipper in both arms and squeezed a bit. Then she lifted up one arm. "Pat. Pat." she said a bit like a robot before she stepped back. Dipper was staring at her in shock until finally his brain was functioning again and he could speak.

"Mabel?"

She smacked him across the face.

* * *

15-8, 13-1-2-5-12; 14-5-22-5-18, 3-8-1-14-7-5;


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Drawrof spets eerht

* * *

"Ow! What is it with people and hitting me today?!" Dipper cried out in annoyance. Mabel just grabbed his arm and began dragging him to the limo. "Mabel! Let go of me!" she turned around and all but shot fire out of her mouth. Dipper was quiet as Mabel all but stuffed him into the limo. Pacifica just stood and watched as the limo drove away. Inside the limo there was heavy silence. Mabel was glaring lighting and flames at Dipper who was being silent for fear of his life. After a few minutes the limo stopped and Mabel dragged Dipper out and into the Mystery Shack. Soos intelligently said nothing as she stomped past him, dragging Dipper by the sleeve. Once she dragged him to the kitchen she threw him into a chair and slammed her hands on the table.

"Where have you been!" she demanded angrily. Dipper growled.

"I'm a grown man! I don't have to tell you anything!" Mabel glared.

"Fine! Then I'll tell you where I've been! Three detectives, seven bounty hunters and thirteen private investigators! I've been to Las Vegas, Washington, Portland, Miami, San Francisco, and New York! I've been to Canada, England, China, Pakistan, and Russia! I spent two million dollars looking for you Dipper! And every time I went somewhere new or hired someone to find you I…" Mabel's voice started to break. "I was so… sure, that this was it… that I would find you… how could you leave me like that?" Mabel asked with a sob. "You weren't the only one that was hurting…" Dipper looked away.

"I needed to get away Mabel…"

"Away from your family? The only people that could help you? Dipper your family is always there for you! Always!" Mabel insisted with tears on her cheeks. Dipper glared.

"Then where were you in high school huh! When you said I embarrassed you and you didn't want anything to do with me!" Mabel blushed and looked at her hands.

"I'm sorry…" Mabel murmured sadly. Dipper shook his head.

"It's too late for a sorry." Dipper muttered. Mabel walked over to Dipper but he stood and walked away from her.

"Dipper please… I missed you… we're twins. When you're not around it feels like half of me is missing…" Mabel begged.

"I've been just fine without you." Dipper growled. Mabel gasped, fresh tears streaming down her face before she ran out of the kitchen. When the front door slammed dipped looked back. "What have I done?" He murmured in horror. Wendy and Pacifica walked into the kitchen and glared at him.

"Dude, what did you say to her." Wendy asked with a frown. Dipper sighed heavily.

"Too much… or not enough…" Dipper said quietly.

"Okay Dipper! Out with it! What happened at Stanley funeral?!" Pacifica demanded.

"Pacifica." Wendy hissed.

"No, I'm tired of dancing around the subject. Stanford died when you were teenagers, Soos says you and Stan got real close then he died a few years later! I don't' see what the big problem is!" Pacifica said pacing back and forth waving her arms around. Dipper's shoulders were slumped; he looked gaunt and tired but he sighed and leaned forward. Wendy and her grew silent while Soos hid around the corner.

"Stan was all I had left of Ford… and in a sense I was the same for Stan… but the things I said… I guess it's too late to go back… it was just after Stan funeral…"

* * *

Mabel was sitting at the kitchen table staring at the grappling hook that he had given her all those years ago. As she stared at it she felt her eye tear up. She was about to start sobbing when she heard the vending machine door opened. She stood to see Dipper. He was holding Stan's cane. The eight ball was missing as it had for past few years. Dipper was looking at it until her stood and straightened his suit.

"Dipper…" Mabel said quietly. Dipper turned to her. His face was hard.

"Mabel… what do you want?" Mabel winced.

"I guess we haven't talked in a while… I've seen you at school… but…" Mabel began. Dipper nodded jerkily.

"Exactly. Why are you talking to me? I'd just be better if you forgot about me." Dipper said placing the cane on the table. Mabel chuckled weakly.

"I can't just forget about you! You're my brother." Mabel said with uncertainty.

"Yes you can." Dipper said before he turned and left the kitchen. Mabel frowned and followed him. As he stepped towards the front door Mabel grabbed his sleeve.

"Dipper, where are you going? You can't just leave me here… alone… I… I need you." Mabel begged with a sob. Dipper pulled out of her grasp and glared at her harshly.

"I don't need you." He snarled. A fresh wave of tears slid down Mabel's face. She stared into nothing until the door banged closed.

"Dipper?" Mabel murmured into the nothing.

* * *

"I didn't look back… I spent the next few years hitchhiking wherever I could… I solved mysteries, confirmed myths. I kept busy… but I never spoke to Mabel again after that…until today…" Dipper finished quietly. Pacifica and Wendy looked at him sympathetically. "Now I'm afraid I've messed it all up again…"

"You were a big jerk." Wendy said darkly. It was Pacifica's turn to hiss at her. "What it's true."

"Wendy." Pacifica growled. Dipper raised his hands.

"No no, she's right… I was a jerk… I'm still a jerk…" Dipper said sadly. Pacifica shook her head.

"No… well a bit… actually… yeah you were…" Pacifica relented. The trio was silent for a moment before Soos knocked on the wall.

"Um guys… I don't mean to intrude but it's almost sunset and Mabel still isn't back… and you know how it is here, she could get, I don't know, like, killed or something." Soos said with worry. Dipper stood with a hard frown.

"Wait, you mean she's still out in the woods?" Dipper asked worriedly.

"Apparently. No one in town saw her, I called around." Soos said. Dipper quickly dashed out of the kitchen.

"Wait! Dipper where are you going?" Pacifica asked. Dipper stood in the doorway and looked back.

"To find my sister!" he said with determination before he stepped out into the forest.

* * *

"Mabel! Mabel where are you! I'm such an idiot… please come back! Mabel!" Dipper called as he made his way through the thick forest. After a while he stopped in a clearing and rubbed his face with one hand before looking around desperately. "I'm such a jerk." Dipper muttered grimly. He sat down on a tree stumped and proper his elbows on his knees before burying his head in his hands. He sat there is silence for a few seconds when he looked up. He could here crying coming from the forest. "Mabel?" as Dipper stepped towards the sound he was reminded of where he was. That crying could be some weird monster. Dipper pulled out his 9 millimeter and readied it. Then he stepped through the bush. Mabel was sitting on the log crying. "Alright!" Dipper shouted. She quickly stood and gasped.

"What the! Hey, don't point that thing at me!" Mabel cried in horror

"Tell me something only Mabel would know!" Dipper shouted

"Come on, it's me! Don't you trust me?" Mabel tried.

"Something only my sister would say." Dipper insisted

"You can always trust family." Mabel said quietly. Dipper sighed and lowered the gun.

"Sorry Mabel… I had to be sure; you know how Gravity Falls is." Dipper said putting his gun away.

"Boy do I." Mabel said with a smile. Dipper frowned.

"Wait, shouldn't you be mad at me? We were just-" Dipper was cut off as Mabel tackled him to the ground. Suddenly she morphed into a viscous creature with the head of a mutated goat with massive horns and bulging eyes. It brayed with a high squeal before it lunged at Dipper. Dipper held the jaws apart, straining to stop the monster from eating his face.

"LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!" Mabel screamed out of nowhere before she whacked the creature in the head with a thick branch. The creature whined before it ran off into the trees. Dipper lay on the ground panting while Mabel stood behind him doing the same. After a while Dipper lifted his arm and Mabel helped him up. Dipper then moved over to a nearby tree stump where he sat down and held his back.

"Ugh… everything hurts." He grumbled before he cracked his back. Mabel winced sympathetically. Dipper stood again before he checked his gun, turning the safety back on, before putting it back. Mabel looked off in the direction the creature fled.

"What was that?"

"A Windego, cannibal beast, very nasty. The second I've met, I didn't know there was one in Gravity Falls…" Dipper commented thoughtfully looking in the same direction. Mabel looked at the ground.

"Where did you meet the first one?" Mabel asked quietly sitting down on a nearby fallen tree.

"Up in south B.C. I was looking into the validity of a monster myth in one of the lakes." Dipper said. Mabel snorted.

"While you were busy running away from everything…" Mabel said sadly before she sniffed. Dipper winced.

"Mabel… please don't cry… I… I just needed… I needed to get away." Dipper said guiltily. Mabel scoffed.

"From the few people that could understand… you weren't the only one that lost a great uncle Dipper… we both lost remember… what happened to twins forever?" Mabel asked unhappily. Dipper sighed.

"But I lost much more then that Mabel… I… I was alone… you barely spoke to me after… and then Stan… it was too much Mabel..." Dipper said turning away. Mabel sighed sadly tears falling silently.

"So that's it then… once you leave Gravity Falls we'll never see each other again. You'll just go on not caring." Mabel sobbed. Dipper turned around frowning.

"I never said I didn't care!" Dipper said strongly. "I never stopped caring. If I did," Dipper reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out a small object. Mabel turned and looked at him with tears on her cheeks "I wouldn't carry this around." He dangled the object in front of Mabel's eyes. It was a small gold shooting star key chain. He dropped in into Mabel's hands. She looked down at it in shock.

"You kept it all this time?" she asked in awe.

"Ever since the day you gave it to me." Dipper said with a small smile. Suddenly Mabel was hugging him again.

"You're the best twin ever." Mabel sobbed in his ear. Dipper laughed.

"No, I'm a huge jerk." Dipper said.

"Yeah you are." Mabel agreed. The pair's laughter rang around the forest as they moved in the direction of the Mystery Shack.

* * *

The next day Dipper and Mabel shared a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

"Well, I never got to the library yesterday but I spent the night decrypting the letters and it turns out I was right. The person was using a reverse Caesar Cipher." Dipper said with a smile. "Ingenious really. Take a well known cipher and flip it around and it appears unsolvable to the untrained eye." Mabel looked at the letters and there translations.

"Wow… and these are a hundred years old?"

"A hundred and fifty, shortly after the founding of the town." Dipper commented.

"Who are they from? Who's this Y.B.B-C?" Mabel asked. Dipper sighed.

"That's the thing… I have no idea. I'll have to get into the town archives, see if anyone is a match…" Dipper said thoughtfully.

"Who are they to?" Mabel tried. Dipper frowned.

"It's a confidential case…it's not supposed to leave the Northwest family unless approved."

"You can tell Mabel." Pacifica said from the kitchen doorway. The pair looked at her. "You do your best work when she helps you after all, and we'll need you at your best to solve this one." Dipper nodded.

"I think your right about that. This case has few leads then I've ever had to work with before and honestly, I don't know how to move forwards from here…all I know is that this Y.B.B-C. was planning to meet Pacifica in secret."

"What? Pacifica? But…" Mabel began looking to her. Pacifica laughed.

"Yeah, turns out I'm named after my great great great aunt." She said. Mabel just lifted an eyebrow and looked at the letters again.

"Anyways, I was right about the cipher change, the reason why he changed it is because it stopped being love letters. Look at this one." Dipper said handing Pacifica a translation.

"'Meet me at the place at the time. Come alone.' They were meeting in secret… without a chaperone… this could be it Dipper!" Pacifica said with a smile. Dipper frowned.

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked. Pacifica pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Well, maybe not all of it but part of it. This relationship, it wasn't approved." Dipper frowned.

"What makes you think that?" Dipper asked.

"If she was meeting him without a chaperone, she didn't want anyone to know about them. I bet you anything that this is a case of Romeo and Juliet. Whoever this Y.B.B-C. was, he was of much lower social standing than Pacifica."

"Perhaps that's what drove her to leave Gravity Falls…" Dipper said thoughtfully.

"To be with the man she loved." Pacifica said with a nod. Dipper frowned.

"It still doesn't explain how she vanished completely…" Dipper commented. Pacifica frowned.

"True… but I have a feeling anymore evidence we find will prove this theory." Pacifica said with certainty. Dipper shook his head.

"I don't like to make any judgments until I have strong leads, but we'll see." Dipper said standing. The two girls followed as the quest for clues continued.

* * *

Mabel and Pacifica both were lounging around the archives doing nothing when Dipper finally closed the file he was holding with a huff.

"I give up. There is no one in these files that could link to Pacifica. There is one Yestle Barrington Bolrigard Crupmt but he was eight seven years old and was a very wealth trader with three children and a wife. I highly doubt Pacifica was exchanging secret love notes with him."

"Where else can we look?" Mabel asked. Dipper turned around in his chair and patted his leg.

"We could scour McGucket manor again. We only went in the library the last time. It's possible she left something in her old bedroom… if you could find it… perhaps if we found the letter's Pacifica wrote we could get another lead." Dipper suggested.

"But who would collect hundred years old cryptic letters?" Pacifica asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Ford." Mabel said in shock. Dipper and Pacifica turned to her.

"What?" Dipper asked. Mabel stood and smiled.

"Grunkle Ford would collect hundred year old cryptic letters! That would be the kind of thing he would look into!" Mabel said happily. Dipper stood smiling.

"Of course! That would be right up his alley! He would definitely collect something like that for the… journals…" Dipper finished with a groan.

"What?" Mabel asked.

"The journals were all destroyed. If he did have the letter's they're probably gone." Dipper said in defeat. Mabel frowned.

"Maybe not. If they were loose they would probably fall out if they were kept in the journal all the time. I know I wouldn't keep them in there loose. I bet you anything whoever had the journals took that paper out." Mabel said.

"Well Stan had the first journal and we never found any cryptic letters at the mystery shack. The one who had the last journal was… oh… oh no! He is the last person I want to see after twenty years! Twenty years isn't long enough! The kid tried to kill me!" Dipper shouted angrily. Mabel frowned.

"But Dipper! He could have the letters!"

"I don't understand what's going on, who had the last journal?" Pacifica asked. Dipper sighed.

"Gideon." He grumbled in defeat

* * *

The trio stood in front of the used car lot looking up at the big sign.

"Apparently Gideon inherited his dad's business." Mabel commented.

"He's over compensating for something." Dipper commented under his breath. Mabel stomped on his foot making him grunt.

"You know Mabel, I think Dipper's right…" Pacifica said quietly. Mabel winced.

"Just… don't say anything in front of him." Mabel said. With that the three stepped into the lot. They looked around but couldn't find Gideon anywhere.

"Maybe he's stepped out for a bit…" Dipper reasoned.

"You'd like that wouldn't you Pines." Gideon called out. The three looked in the direction of his voice. The short man was leaning against the door to the sales office with a frown. "But that is not the case. Now, you didn't come here just to visit widdle ole me… what d'ya want?" Gideon asked with a harsh frown. Dipper sighed.

"I need to ask you about the journal." Dipper said. Gideon snorted.

"The author was your uncle. You should know everything ya need to know." Gideon commented looking at his fingernails. Dipper growled.

"Please Gideon, just hear me out." After a few seconds Gideon sighed.

"Fine… what d'ya need ta know?" Gideon asked.

"Were there any letters inside your journal? Encrypted ones?" Dipper asked hopefully. Gideon though for a second then nodded.

"I think I have what you're looking for… come with me." Gideon said before he motioned them to follow. He led them through his house until he got to his back office. After he rifled through a few papers he pulled out a light stack of old letters. "Here they are. I never knew what to do with them, but they were always flyin around all willy nily whenever I leafed through the journal, so I took them out."

"Perfect!" Pacifica said looking through the letters, though she couldn't decipher them like Dipper could. "These are another piece of the puzzle! Come on guys, we need to get back to McGucket manor!" Pacifica said before she led the way as the trio left Gideon behind, much to his chagrin.

"See! I told you no sane person keep loose notes in a journal." Mabel said with a laugh.

"What does that make me and Ford?" Dipper commented with an unimpressed frown.

"Oh I always knew you two were crazy. You played dungeons and dungeons and more dungeons." Mabel commented derisively.

"What! I thought you liked that game!" Dipper argued. Mabel shrugged.

"Eh… it was alright… I guess… but that hot elf just wasn't my type you know." Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Oh Mabel!" Gideon called after the trio. The trio turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, looking every bit the sleazy car salesman. "Am I your type?"

"No." Mabel said point blank causing Gideon's face to droop into a heartbroken face and Dipper to snort causing a slap on the arm from Pacifica.

"Ow." He said rubbing his arm. "Will you stop that, Wendy punched me there, not to mention I hit it on that tombstone… I'm going to be crippled by the time I leave this town." Pacifica rolled her eyes.

"You're so dramatic Dipper… so… can you teach me how to decrypt these? I'm intrigued." Pacifica asked quietly. Dipper looked at her and smiled.

"Well I don't see why not, the number cipher is easy enough… maybe I'll even teach you the reverse caeser cipher… though it's a bit more complex." Dipper said with a nod. Pacifica smiled. Ahead of them Mabel smiled a bit.

Maybe there would be something for Dipper in Gravity Falls after all.

* * *

Zhoo sodbhg Vwdqirug


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Erauqs erenegiV eht

* * *

"Why should I let you in again, you already looked at the library." McGucket's son asked over the intercom.

"Come on, it's me! You father was my uncle's best friend… please?" Mabel begged.

"Give up Mabel. This McGucket is nothing but a money hoarding jerk." Pacifica grumbled. Dipper shushed her as Mabel continued begging. Finally the gate buzzed.

"Thank you again so much sir!" Mabel thanked again. The man over the intercom was giggling a bit.

"Alright, alright." He murmured before the intercom cut off. Mabel turned to the pair with a wince.

"I promised to go out with him if he let us in… apparently he had a bit of a crush on me for a while… I think it was the Christmas cards." Mabel said with a shrug.

"He's five years older than us…" Dipper commented with a wince. Pacifica snorted.

"You know what they say about older rich men." She commented. Both Mabel and Dipper looked at each other in horror before shuddering. With that the trio went into the manor. McGucket's son was there and Mabel winced before she was led away by him. She gave Dipper a look and he understood to continue with the search. As Dipper stood in the front foyer he looked around.

"Alright Pacifica… where are the bedrooms?"

"Well mine was next to my parents…" Pacifica said thoughtfully.

"The first born's bedroom… if you had siblings where would they sleep?" Dipper asked. Pacifica frowned.

"Erm… well there are five more bedrooms down the hall from my room… did Pacifica have siblings?" Pacifica asked. Dipper nodded.

"According to the letters from Pacifica that I skimmed through she was having trouble avoiding being detected by her two sisters, Bianca and Ariel. Apparently she was the youngest of the three. Now apparently Pacifica was merely a cousin of your ancestor. She was only visiting for a cousin's birthday; apparently she was going to be there for one summer." Dipper explained.

"Huh, like you." Pacifica commented quietly. Dipper paused thoughtfully.

"Yes, I suppose she was a bit like us… anyways, where would your guest sleep?"

"Well… how old was Pacifica?"

"Why does it matter?" Dipper asked.

"If she was a teenager she'd have a room to her own."

"She was sixteen, marriageable age a hundred years ago."

"And if she was the youngest at the most there would be two years between her and either Ariel or Bianca… so she would be in the Red Room!" Pacifica said excitedly before she led Dipper down the hall. The Red Room was quite aptly descripted. Though lavish the blood red finished on almost everything gave off a sinister glow. Dipper looked around and sighed.

"These rooms are hardly sealed… any evidence was likely removed years ago…" Dipper said forlornly as he stepped into the room. Pacifica looked around, rifling through notebooks and regular books. After a while she sighed.

"Yeah… you're probably right…" she leaned back into the wall and the floorboard creaked. Dipper frowned.

"Wait… move for a second." Dipper said, motioning Pacifica off to the side.

"That floor board was always creaky, we tried to fix it but nothing seemed to work…" Pacifica said as she watched Dipper tap the floorboards. Then she heard it. "Wait… it sounds different."

"That's because there's a floor space underneath it, it's the perfect place to hide something." Dipper said with a wide smile. He tried to pry the floorboard up with his fingers but couldn't get enough grip on the wood. Pacifica looked around and passed Dipper a letter opener. He jammed it underneath the floorboard and pried it open. Inside where sketch books. Dipper pulled them out and Pacifica and him perused through them. They were filled with very impressive sketches.

"She was an artist… these are gorgeous!" Pacifica commented with sadness to her voice. She looked at one particularly beautiful sketch of some kind of song bird. The eyes seemed to shine. The bird looked as though it could come alive and fly off the paper.

"Look at this one." Dipper said holding one page open. It was a sketch of a man playing a piano. It was just as detailed as the bird yet it was signed.

"M.B.B-C at play, Pacifica… huh… M? Wasn't it Y?" Pacifica commented.

"Yes… strange… maybe it's a sibling?" Dipper commented. After a few more pages a letter envelope dropped out of the book. "Hmm?" Dipper picked it up. On the outside it read T.M.B.B-C. "Pacifica must have written this before she died." Dipper said before he went to pick up the letter opener and retrieved the paper inside. He perused it for a few seconds before her frowned. "This is gibberish… it's not a message at all…" Pacifica looked over Dipper's shoulder and read the letter.

21-23, 24-10, 4-13-1-22-26-22-5, 10-20-23-14;

17-21, 6-19-12-19-13, 3-16-3-12-24-21-11, 11-9-17-4, 20-24-13, 9-15-22-6-24-22, 24-10-21-13-1-13, 19-23-7, 23-17, 1-20-13-8-16-8-22-15-2-4, 1-17-17-3-1; 13, 2-15-23-8, 5-10-13, 9-25-25-11-9, 22-26-8; 1-23-10, 21-9-13-6-26, 23-26-24-13-19, 20-9; 6-15-20-10, 24-1, 24-4-4-9-9; 3-3-5, 20, 25-9-3-1, 3-6-22, 2-26, 22-16-23-12, 1-12-18-21, 13-7-16-16, 2-23-22-25-24-9, 17, 22-25-17-5, 24, 26-12-6-22-20-15-25-22, 17, 8-1-13-3-13, 20-26-7-7, 7-4-2; 13, 14-10-20-23, 25-7-4-20-25, 23-11-16-24, 23-26-24-17-3-14, 3-6-22, 5-20-5-10, 9-1-19, 24-25-6, 1-16-14-17-22-19-26, 13, 25-2-4-16, 23-7-14-9; 16, 9-6-17-13, 5-19-3-2, 8-22-17-22-5-9-10, 10-17-3, 16-25-9, 25-2-24-1-10, 4-13-18-8-25-10-6, 7-26-6-20, 16-16-23-20-26-15-13-4-4, 11-1, 2-22-22-22, 10-21-1-26-20-2-16-21-24, 11-16, 21-16, 5-10-9-3, 8-16-3, 21-16-16, 1-17-5-20-25, 13-5, 21-16-16, 6-16-17-11-12-22-10-16;

20-26-7-7; 7-4-2-22, 21-6-9-3-16-21-2, 5-8-7-26-7-17-14-12

"Whoa…" Pacifica said looking at all the numbers and almost getting a headache. Dipper looked over it more before he frowned.

"Hang on… I think… I think it's been double encrypted." Dipper said with a shocked expression.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Pacifica asked. Dipper looked at it closely and nodded.

"It means that Pacifica encrypted her original message with a letter based cipher, then she converted the letter's to numbers… if given enough time I just might be able to crack her code, I need to get into my uncles old office though, he has all kinds of ciphers on file." Dipper said tucking the letter into his case journal before tucking that back into his coat. "Come on, let's go rescue Mabel."

* * *

"Ugh! He was SOOOOO boring! All he wanted to talk about was fish and boats… ugh and I have to go on a date with him… ugh!" Mabel groaned as she laid her head on the kitchen table at the mystery shack. Pacifica winced.

"Better you then me." Mabel flashed her a dirty look. The vending machine door opening and Dipper's grumbling broke the silence.

"Pacifica Northwest was too smart for her own good!" Dipper shouted angrily. He slammed the letter down in front of the pair. They both peered at what Dipper had translated.

UW XJ DMAVZVE JTWN,

QU FSLSM CPCLXUK KIQD TXM IOVFXV XJUMAM SWG WQ ATMHPHVOBD AQQCA. M BOWH EJM I YYKI VZH. AWJ UIMFZ WZXMS TI, FOTJ XA XDDII, CCE T YICA CFV BZ VPWL ALRU MGPP BWVYXI Q VYQE X ZLFVTOYV Q HAMCM TZGG GDB. M NJTW YGDTY WKPX WZXQCN CFV ETEJ IAS XYF APNQVSZ M YBDP WGNI. P IFQM ESCB HVQVEIJ JQC PYI YBXAJ DMRHYJF GZFT PPWTZOMDD KA BVVV JUAZTBPUX KP UP EJIC HPC UPP AQETY ME UPP FPQKLVJF.

TZGG, GDBV UFICPUB EHGZGQNL

"What?" Pacifica commented incredulously peering at the gibberish in confusion.

"She used a Vigenere cipher to encrypt it." Dipper explained running a hand through his hair while he slouched in the chair opposite the girls. "It means I won't be able to decrypt it. The Vigenere cipher uses a key word to encrypt the message and you need that same key to decrypt the message. I can't do anything more with this…" Dipper finished, disenchanted. Pacifica and Mabel sighed in their own disappointment.

"So it goes cold here?" Pacifica asked sadly. Dipper sighed but nodded.

"It seems to… ugh! If we just knew whom this Y.B.B-C was… wait… that's it! **Y.B.B-C is the key**!" Dipper cried standing up.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Pacifica asked.

"The name! The name that goes with these initials! That is the key to decrypting the letter. It would have to be something that he would be able to guess after all! What is easier to guess then your own name!" Dipper began to pace until he stopped. "I need a wall and four meters of red string!" he cried before he dashed up the stairs. Mabel groaned.

"Oh god, not another conspiracy graph." She moaned. Pacifica picked up all the notes Dipper had left on the table and brought it up to the attic. Dipper was already in a flurry of motion.

"This goes here…. And this here! No! Here!" he muttered to himself as he walked back and forth from a pile of documents and the growing web of red on the wall in front of him. Pacifica placed the pile beside the other one. "Oh! Perfect! Thank you Pacifica… oh right! Here!" Dipper said handing Pacifica a tattered notebook. "That was in my uncle office. It's his encrypting notebook. It has all his notes about ciphers in there; I actually learned in part from that as well as from him, I'm sure it'll help you as well." Pacifica looked at the journal in her hands in shock.

"This was your uncle's? No Dipper I can't take this, it's yours." Pacifica said trying to hand it back. Dipper took it back, ripping out the first page before he wrote Pacifica's name on the cover before handing it back.

"It's yours now." He insisted. Pacifica looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you." She murmured before she moved over to the wall opposite the growing web and left Dipper to his muttering. After a while she fell asleep, dreaming of roads that she'd never seen before riding on the back of a motorbike with a squeaky wheel on the way to a new adventure.

* * *

Dipper stood in front of the web muttering under his breath.

"It just doesn't make sense… Y isn't a common first initial." He looked at the letters again and made a note of the M that took place of the y in Pacifica's letter. "Wait… it's not an initial." He said glancing back at the files of the elderly man with the y first name, removing it off the web. "It's an address… your in his letter's becomes my in Pacifica's… of course… they were lovers!" Dipper said feeling foolish for not making that connection before. "So… by process of continuation the first B is probably another title… your beautiful… your betrothed… your beloved… yes… I like that one. Your beloved… hmm… that means his initials were B.C… but…" suddenly Dipper paled and stepped back. "No… no it can't be! It's not possible!" he shouted in a panic. Pacifica woke with a start and looked around.

"Dipper? What's wrong?" Dipper was standing stock-still but the way his eyes were moving around jerkily he was thinking rapidly. Mabel and Soos where soon standing in the doorway. Mabel stepped forwards smiling.

"You figured out his identity?" she asked harmlessly but Dipper just looked at her with a harsh frown.

"Yes… but…" Dipper looked at the paper that was the placeholder for the mystery lover. He stepped forwards blocking it from view from everyone else as he drew something onto it. After a few seconds he stepped back and everyone's face paled drastically. On the paper was a very familiar figure.

"No!" Mabel insisted in shock "It's not possible."

"You do know what this means right Mabel… there's only one way we can finish this case now… we'll have to speak to him personally." Dipper said gravely. Mabel stared at him in horror.

"No! It's too dangerous! You can't do that Dipper! He'd kill you before he'd ever listen to you!"

"I think I know a way to get him to talk..." Dipper insisted.

"At what cost?" Pacifica asked darkly. Dipper sighed.

"I agree it's a risk… but it's the only way…" Dipper said gravely "otherwise we'll never know what happened to her." Pacifica sighed and looked at the floor in stress. Soos and Mabel looked at Dipper in fear while Dipper glared harshly at the drawing of Pacifica the first's lover.

Bill Cipher

* * *

ZUU YGMM KR BMN COE KL UFCPT FJ NJOGRSFG?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

drow eno yllaretil

gniwears rof gninraw ronim osla

(; ?wonk ay tsal rof tseb eht evas

egassem eht tpirced ot yek Z ot A eht esu neht, yek xis ytnewt Z eno A eht gnisu srettel otni kcab srebmun eht egnahc tsrif !pans a eb dluohs siht os tuo else gnihtyreve derugif ylbaborp ev'uoy won yb tub ykcirt elttil a si eno siht, yako

* * *

Dipper inspected his gun before he slid the clip back into place with a click.

"That's not going to help you." Mabel said quietly. Dipper just grunted even as he removed his coat, putting his gun into the back of his shirt. Pacifica stared at him worriedly. After a few seconds Mabel huffed and stood.

"Let us help Dipper!" she yelled.

"No! I need you to stay in here under the protection!" Dipper yelled angrily.

"No! I will not sit here hiding while my brother is killed!"

"And I won't be helpless to stop Bill from killing you!" Dipper returned. Mabel blinked and sat down. "Bill… you know he wants me to suffer… and he knows that the best way to do that is to hurt you… I've lost too many people in my life Mabel… I can't lose you to." Mabel just sat at the table looking heartbroken. After a few seconds Dipper hugged her. "Mabel… I… I love you." Dipper said with a sickening note of farewell. Pacifica just looked at Dipper as he walked out of the house. She was clutching the cipher book that Dipper gave her close to her chest. He paused in the door way and left a lingering look on Pacifica and Mabel and even Soos, who was half hiding in the doorway before he stepped out of the Mystery Shack.

* * *

Dipper stood in the circle of candles. He was silent for a few seconds before he took a deep breath.

"triangulum, entangulem, vidiforis dominus mentium! Vidiforis medis disarmium!" Dipper shouted into the forest. In an instant the surround forest went silent. Dipper fell to his knees as pain wracked his form. Like Mabel had described the world seemed to slow to a stop around him, but unlike Gideon, Dipper held control of his body so he did not chant that strange phrase Gideon had. Quiet suddenly the flames of the candles rose into ten-foot towers. Dipper stumbled back as the flames whipped around dangerously

"WELL WELL WEL!" his voice suddenly screamed out. "If it isn't my old buddy old pal SSSSTTTTAAAANDDDFOOORRRDDD!" suddenly Dipper was in the center of a large white eye with a slit like pupil. "Oh… oh no! Oh this is too good! It's you! PINE TREEE!" he screamed, eye and body turning red and black.

"Bill…" Dipper began before a thin black hand encompassed his throat and lifted him off the ground. Bill was before watching as Dipper chocked for air, hand scrapping at his grip. Bill was staring with a twitching eye, as Dipper's own eyes seemed to flitter around franticly.

"Death is so weird… why do you need to breath… why do you need your blood to be pumping around you… why are you so frantic to catch your breath. Give up Pine Tree. Just let go." Bill muttered as he squeezed a bit tighter. Dipper finally tried again.

"I… I ha… ve a … dea…l Bi…ll." Dipper gasped out. Bill instantly dropped him. Dipper landed on his back roughly knocking the last of his breath out of him. He stopped breathing for a few seconds before he gasped and began choking heavily as he rolled onto his hands and knees.

"Well! I'm waiting! What do you want Pine Tree! And what could you possible offer me?" Bill asked impatiently. After a few more moments Dipper stood shakily.

"I'm fairly confidant you'll accept this deal." Dipper said quietly. Bill laughed.

"Really? Must be pretty good." Bill said rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Well, name you offer."

"I'll let you out of the dreamscape." Bill's eye widened and he shook with suppressed laughter. "You'll be free to roam our world… and I'm also willing to help you break the field around Gravity Falls." Bill actually laughed at that.

"You're signing your death warrant Pines! What do you want in return? Money? Power? Your own galaxy?"

" I require you to tell me everything you know about a single subject completely truthfully." Dipper said quietly. Bill laughed again.

"Ultimate knowledge huh? I knew I had you pegged for a nerd! So what do you want to know huh? The meaning of life? The answer to time travel?"

"I'm not falling for that twice Bill." Dipper said harshly. He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?" Bill thought for a second before his eye expressed a vicious smile.

"Fine! It's a DEAL!" he shouted lighting his hand alight with his trademark blue flames. Dipper took his hand and instantly the world burst into color and life. Slowly but surely Bill grew in size and cackled. "PINES! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" he screamed looming over the man.

"Oh Bill." Dipper said in singsong.

"WWWHAAAAATTTT?" Bill shouted angrily. Dipper lifted her hand, which was alight with blue flames, reminding Bill of his end of the bargain. Bill looked at it angrily turning red and shaking. "GGGRAAAAWWWHHHHHH!" he screamed before he shrunk down to normal size, though he was still red. "What do you want to know? Make it snappy! I want to kill you already!"

"Tell me everything you know about Pacifica Northwest the first." Dipper said clearly. Instantly Bill turned into a blank white triangle. His pupil was no longer a line but a small dot. He stared straight ahead unmoving. Dipper waved his hand in front of the creature but Bill did nothing. Then he started to shake, vibrate really, then his hands curled into fists. Then he emitted a terrible awful scream. Dipper clutched his ears as the triangle squealed like endless feedback. Then he exploded in a bright white light that Dipper was consumed into. Just as quickly as it appeared the light disappeared and in the spot where the two had been were two stone statues.

* * *

Dipper landed on an old dirt road with a thump

"Ugh…" he groaned picking himself up again. Suddenly Bill landed in the dirt beside him. As Bill stood he blinked.

"Ow…" he said quietly. "What was that? It… it felt weird." He commented. Dipper stared at him in confusion.

"You mean you felt pain?" Dipper asked. Bill rolled his eye.

"No, pain is funny! That was anything but…" Dill said he stood still for a second then he frowned. "What the… why aren't I floating…" Dipper frowned further.

"What… wait…" Dipper reached out at a nearby tree but he phased right through it. "We're not real." Dipper said incredulously. Bill laughed.

"Ha! We must be in another dimension! Well, see ya in a billion years Pine Tree!" Bill said before he disappeared. But two second later he dropped out of the sky again.

"Ow." Bill repeated. Dipper frowned.

"So… you have not power… we're both not real… where are we?" Bill scoffed.

"Where ever we are I don't like this dimension…" Bill said before he leaned forward and fell into the ground. "Okay! That's it! What is this weird feeling? I hate it!" Bill shouted angrily. Dipper rolled his eyes before he looked down the road.

"Well this has to lead somewhere, come on." Dipper said before he began walking down the road. After a few steps he frowned and looked back. Bill was still standing in the same spot. "Well?"

"Oh I'll follow." Bill assured him "Just as soon as I figure out how to move." He was frowning heavily trying it seemed, fruitlessly, to float. Dipper huffed.

"Try taking a step. You know, with your legs?" Bill looked at Dipper like he had agreed to take over the world with him.

"What… you mean… walk?" Bill asked incredulously.

"Yes, it's how we mere mortals move around. You should try it some time." Dipper said with a roll of his eyes. Bill looked down at his foot before he lifted it and took a step.

"That was a complete waste of energy." Bill commented matter of factually. "I literally felt how much energy I just wasted… you move around like this?" Dipper huffed, swinging his arm behind himself in a dismissive action before continuing down the dirt road. After a few minutes Dipper looked back. Trailing behind him Bill was literally panting, arms trailing limply behind him. Dipper smacked himself in the face and pulled it down while groaning in annoyance. Bill saw the look and glared at him.

"What!" he snapped "This is exhausting!" Dipper sighed in defeat before his kneeled down.

"Climb onto my shoulder." Dipper said. Bill stared at him blankly.

"What?"

"I'll carry you, come on hurry up I'm not exactly a teenager and kneeling is murder on the joints." Dipper complained. Bill did as he was asked. He sat on Dipper's left shoulder and looked around.

"Huh… nice view." Bill said. Dipper just rolled his eyes before he started walking forward again.

* * *

Pacifica paused in her analysis of Stanford's journal and looked at the stone statue lying in the bed beside her. Dipper looked scared, his arms thrown up to defend himself, frozen in grey. Pacifica looked to the other bed where Bill Cipher lay in a similar state, arms and legs straight, eye empty. He looked dead inside. Pacifica sighed and looked back to Dipper. Her silent vigil was broken by a knock. Soos was standing in the door.

"Pacifica... your mom is here." Pacifica looked up and nodded. Mrs. Northwest stepped into the room and looked at the slanted roof, the stone bodies on the bed, and her Pacifica sitting a ratty chair with a ratty book and huffed.

"What are you doing here in this vagrant house standing over a Pines?" Pacifica sneered.

"I am here waiting for him to wake up." Pacifica said defiantly. Her mother snorted.

"Almost better if he didn't, then maybe you will get these foolish ideas about leaving home out of your head." Pacifica stood angrily. She fumed for a few seconds before she took a breath and sat back down. After a few seconds she spoke.

"Do you know why Dipper is turned to stone? He made a few deal with Bill Cipher to learn about the first Pacifica... but the truth is Bill and Pacifica were in love. But her father, a Northwest, was cruel to him…" Pacifica looked up at her mother with burning eyes. "Our family is the reason Bill Cipher is a viscous monster! And Dipper may have given his life to fix our mistake… I wish he hadn't needed to… I wish the Northwest's could be as good and brave and strong as he is… I love him." Pacifica admitted to her shocked mother. "I love him as Pacifica loved Bill… and if you can't accept that… then... goodbye Mrs. Northwest… it was a pleasure speaking with you." Pacifica said. Mrs. Northwest stared at her before she turned and left. Pacifica knew that her life was changed forever. She was no longer a Northwest. But she wasn't sure if that was a bad thing.

* * *

Bill was still sitting on Dipper's shoulder when they crested over a hill and a town came into view. The pair took in the sight before Bill groaned.

"its Gravity Falls… but before it was interesting." Bill said with a derisive tone.

"Late 1840s… just after its founding… this is when Pacifica was here… " Dipper commented thoughtfully. With that he made his way down the hill. Eventually they reached the town. As they weren't real no one stopped to say hi but Dipper could recognize some definite ancestors. The town doctor had McGucket's nose. A lumberjack had Wendy's red hair. Even the undertaker looked a bit like Robbie, though with a thick Italian accent. When they reached the town centre Bill jumped off Dipper's shoulder.

"Hmmm… this place is familiar." He said looking around the vicinity with a frown. Dipper looked around.

"Were you around here? Did you strike a deal with anyone?" Dipper asked. Bill looked over at a crowd.

"I'll check." He said before he made his way over to them. After a few seconds Dipper heard Bill talking.

"Stop and be amazed as I, Bill Cipher, will make a bird appear out of thin air!" Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Bill, no one can see you and you don't have any power remember?" Dipper said. Bill walked up beside him.

"I didn't say anything." He said with a frown. The crowd suddenly thinned. There before the pair was a tall blond man in a waistcoat with a bow tie. He had a black cane in one hand and a tall top hat. Dipper and Bill stared at him in shock with wide eyes. With a gesture the blond released a plume of smoke before a red songbird burst from his palm. After a few seconds there was minimal applause and a few coughs from the smoke. The blond looked a bit distressed.

"I see you are not intrigued by such a simple trick! No matter, for this next trick I'll leave you truly amazed!" the Bill sound alike insisted.

"The only thing that amazes me Cipher is that you're still aloud to perform. Your act is so boring I'm surprised you haven't killed anyone yet. " One man calls from the small crowd. The crowd laughed and cleared as the blond watched them leave, stress lining his tired face. When they were all gone he whipped off his hat and threw it at the ground in anger. Bill was staring at the man then stepped back.

"My… my god… I… remember this day… no… no it's not possible…" as Bill panicked the world turned a bit grey and distorted. Dipper realized with a jolt where they were.

"Bill… I think… I think we're in your mindscape." Bill looked at him with a panic filled eye.

"No! There's no way! I'd be able to escape!" Bill insisted. Dipper looked at him harshly.

"You made a deal Bill, and my price was clear… I think we're trapped until you reveal how Pacifica comes into this… what you know about her." Dipper reasoned staring at the frozen human that had once been Bill Cipher. The Bill beside him was shaking again, this time in minor fear.

"I can't… it… I can't even remember!" Bill cried in panic. Dipper could see that the world around him was being distorted as Bill tried to make sense of what was happening. Dipper placed a hand on one of his sides. Bill looked back and the world slowly stopped becoming warped.

"Don't fight it Bill… I've been fighting my past for twenty years and I almost lost everything. You've been fighting it much longer… it seems like you already have lost everything… but you won't know what you can get back until you look back… until you look back and you forgive yourself." Dipper insisted. Bill stared at him for a few seconds before the memory around them started again. Human Bill was leaning against a wall, cane in hands, as he appeared to be lost in thought. As he stood there the bird from before landed on his shoulder.

"Hello Periot… I don't have any crumbs for you I'm afraid." Bill said to the bird that was now balanced on his finger. Human Bill sighed a bit before he looked at the old fob watch in his pocket. The sun was staring to set and the lamps were being lit. After a few seconds human Bill sighed and began walking down the street. The watching pair followed, Bill once again perched on Dipper's shoulder as the blond walked through the darkening streets.

"Hey… I remember this too." The triangle commented. "Matilda's inn… she was a witch I swear… just watch." Dipper followed the blond. The pair walked through several walls until they appeared before the blond arguing with supposedly Matilda.

"I can't pay you Cipher."

"Come on… how bout a deal?" the human Bill offered, making Dipper snort. "I'll play all night in exchange for table scraps." Matilda was chuckling darkly at him.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen. Alright Bill, get to that piano." Matilda said evilly. Human Bill looked ashamed of himself as his took off his top hat and placed it beside his cane behind the bar before he walked over to the piano. After cracking his knuckles Bill began to play the piano. He played beautifully, with so much emotion behind it. Dipper stared at the Bill on his shoulder. Triangle Bill was following the blonds every move as he swayed and plunked away at the keys.

"I forgot I could do that…" Bill commented quietly. Dipper looked back to the human Bill that was bringing the song to a grand crescendo. As he began to taper the song off a family of well-dressed people entered the inn.

"Are you sure darling?" the mother asked wearily looking at the light layer of dirt around the place.

"Yes mother…" the blond in red all but whispered. Her two sisters dressed in lilac and bluebell flipped their hair.

"Well mother, we're going to freshen up, come Ariel." The eldest directed. The middle bowed her head.

"Yes Bianca." She replied. Dipper gaped.

"Wait, Bianca and Ariel… that means…" he looked at the blond in red. It was shocking really how much she looked like the modern Pacifica.

"That's her… Pacifica Northwest the first." Bill murmured in Dipper's ear.

"Will you come up darling?" Pacifica's mother asked. The young woman shook her head.

"No mother… I'll be up soon." She still whispered. Human Bill was watching her now, intrigued. She slowly moved towards the piano as Bill started a new song. She looked at him a few seconds before she smiled.

"Sonatina No.1: 1st movement… you play beautifully." Pacifica said quietly to Bill. The young man shook his head.

"Naw, I'm not that great…" he murmured. If Dipper didn't know any better he'd say that human Bill was blushing.

"True…" Pacifica whispered again causing human Bill to frown at her. "It's better as a duet." She whispered before she motioned Bill to scoot over. She brushed the keys before she began to play alongside Bill. The two played as if in sync. The Bill on Dipper's shoulder was staring at Pacifica. Unbeknownst to them both he was crying. The Bill beside her simply smiled at her as the continued playing until the song was over. There was a tingle of coins as for the first time in a long time Bill was receiving tips. After the coins stopped flying Bill looked into the jar and motioned for Matilda. She looked at the jar angrily until Bill handed it to her.

"Just take out a bit for two drinks, one for me and one for this lovely lady here." Bill said smiling at Pacifica. Pacifica laughed a bit but still at a whisper. The two sat at the bar talking for a few hours. Bill finally looked at Pacifica and asked his big question.

"Alright… out with it, why do you constantly whisper?" Pacifica a smiled slightly.

"Well… my sisters are so brash and loud… they're constantly vying for a husband… but I am the youngest… my father is a firm believer that young woman are meant to be seen not heard." Pacifica said quietly. Bill was looking at her incredulously.

"Wow… your dad sounds like a jerk." Bill commented. Suddenly Pacifica paled. Her father walked over and grabbed her forcibly of the stool.

"Up stairs now young woman!" he said angrily. He glared at Bill darkly before he marched his daughter up to the rooms. She glanced down at Bill before she disappeared from sight. Bill was watching her go with a slight frown. After she was gone he turned back to his drink. Matilda was in front of him holding a plate of scraps.

"She's way out of your league Cipher." Matilda said before she walked away. Bill just looked at the plate before he dug in ravenously. The memory slowly faded away to the forest again. Bill was standing apart from Dipper staring at the ground.

"I remember… I was a New Yorker… I was kicked out of my home… but I could play piano like no one else…" Bill murmured quietly. Dipper looked up into the strange sky.

"Did you see her again?" he asked the triangle. Bill laughed.

"Oh yeah. We took every opportunity to slip away." Bill said quietly. Memories flashed around them; Meeting in secret alcoves, playing chess in the woods, laughing at each other's jokes, Bill teacher Pacifica codes, stargazing in the forest. Bill and Pacifica seemed to grow more and more in love as the memories flashed. Suddenly one memory flashed red and Bill shook. "But!" the world seemed to rumble as everything flashed between white and red. "Deirt I!" Bill began to scream gibberish. "Llef ehs!" the world seemed to pulse, as Bill's mind grew more and more unhinged. Dipper tried to make sense of what Bill was screaming but it was nonsensical. "Deil yeht! Deil yeht! DEIL YEHT!" Bill screeched.

"BILL!" Dipper shouted. Instantly Bill began to reduce in size and returned to yellow, though he was paler. The triangle was panting heavily as he weakly propped himself up on his hands and knees. Dipper walked over to him and placed a hand on each of his sides.

"Tell me what happened Bill… please…" Dipper begged. Bill was silent before a few tears dipped out of his eye.

"Bianca and Ariel tricked me." He murmured quietly. There was another memory , but Dipper wasn't paying attention, he was paying absolute attention to Bill. "I had asked Pacifica's father if I could marry her and he said no…I knew he would… but I had to try… but Ariel came to me one day and told me that her father had changed his mind… like an idiot I believed her." Dipper looked up to see that hopeful face Bill had worn with a bright smile. He pitied Bill and started understand how he'd become so bitter. "But when I got there… Bianca was waiting for me… she started flirty with me… she wanted to get away from all the expectations of being rich… by any means necessary…" Bill trailer off. Above them Bianca's voice echoed hollowly.

 _"Oh Bill, you're so handsome! I know you only love Pacifica for money… why would you love a girl, when you can have me… I'm far more beautiful than Pacifica, choose me instead…"_

"I was such an idiot… Pacifica overheard my response… only part of it…" Bill said weakly and his response echoed around them making Dipper feel sick.

 _"Of course you're right Bianca…why would I pick Pacifica when I could have you?"_

"Cipher, you fool." Dipper murmured in pity. The triangle was weeping openly now. But the voices continued.

 _"Really?"_

 _"No, you're a cow and I hate you."_

Dipper snorted.

"Crude but effective…" Dipper began but he trailed off. Bill was clutching his own head shaking with sobs.

"I wasn't always a demon… I was human… the summer I turned fifteen I met a demon… he gave he a choice… I could take ultimate demonic power and become what I was destined to be at the price of my soul… or deny the power and retain my soul but never reach my full potential… I had made a deal with the demon… I wanted the choice to follow me until I turned twenty years old… but there was another layer to my deal… I still had the ability to make the choice before I was twenty…" Suddenly Dipper was in another memory. Human Bill was running through the forest screaming out Pacifica's name frantically.

"PACIFICA! PACIF- NO! NO NO NO!" Bill screamed, looking up. Dipper followed his eyes and paled. Pacifica was standing on the edge of one of the Gravity Falls cliffs. She looked ready to jump.

"Oh god…" Dipper murmured in horror. Bill was holding his right hand up, finger's ready to snap and at once Dipper understood. When Pacifica turned, he along with human Bill breathed a sigh of relief. Then she stepped off the cliff backwards.

"NO!" human Bill screamed. He looked between his fingers and Pacifica before he snapped. In an instant he began to scream as everything about him changed and his soul was ripped from him and replaced by something harsh and dark. Finally he opened his one eye and looked up at Pacifica. She was falling and then suddenly she rippled and before the Bills' and Dipper's eyes Pacifica turned into a flock of red song birds, identical to Bill's pet bird Periot. The newly formed Bill stared up in horror before he began to shake. Then he screamed and turned red. "NORTHWESSSSTTTT!" the memory of Bill screamed. Instantly the furious demon was in front of the trembling Northwest family. Pacific's father and Bianca and Ariel where shuddering as Bill trapped them in a wheel of fire. "BIANCA!" Bill screamed. "You wanted to be low born? You get it!" with a snap of his fingers Bianca was dressed as a prostitute. She screamed as the earrings she wore melted away, burning her skin. Bill turned to Ariel. "ARIEL! You get what you always wanted! A marriage! I hope you HATE IT!" Bill screamed. But Ariel got her ring just what she'd wanted. She fell to her knees in relief. "And NORTHWEST!" Bill said as he caused Pacifica's father to lift off the floor so that he was in front of his eye. "Hmmm… you know, maybe you'll change…" Bill said thoughtfully, causing the Northwest man to shake in fear. "Maybe you'll stop being such a cheating lying jerk! Maybe you'll learn to be kind… you know maybe you'll see all the wrong you've done to me… maybe you'll learn to Bahahaha! Okay I'm sorry I can't anymore! LET'S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY!" Bill Cipher screamed manically. "You've always been a huge piece of SHIT! IF I COULD KILL YOU I WOULD! But murder is frowned upon in most countries! Having said that… BURN IN HELLL!" Bill screamed before with a great burst the Northwest mansion was encompassed in evil blue flames. As Bill floated above it all laughing a black hole suddenly opened behind him. "What the? Hey! Hey what is this?! No! No I'm not done yet! NO! NOOOO!" Bill screamed before he, and all the flames were sucked away into the void. The sound echoed even as the memory faded away. Bill was standing, tears still streaming down his face.

"What happened to you?" Dipper asked

"The demon 'forgot' to mention one detail… demons aren't meant to live in the mortal realm… when I cursed the Northwest family; Bianca could never touch the Northwest family gold again, Ariel could never have a happy marriage, Northwest could never win a bet, and the Northwest's themselves could never leave Gravity Falls; I was banished to the dream realm… " Bill said quietly. "Of course the curses are mostly useless now… except for the last one…" Dipper sighed. He was afraid that would be the case… suddenly another memory played. He turned to it and frowned. It was a memory of Pacifica and Bill stargazing.

"You know Bill…" Pacifica murmured "I've always dreamed of having my very own galaxy… someplace I could be whatever I wanted… where I could help anyone… protect them… guide them… maybe someday…" Dipper watched as Bill stared at it. Suddenly Dipper remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the still encrypted latter.

"Bill." The triangle turned to him, tears still falling "I have this letter from Pacifica… it was addressed to you… it's encrypted… but I'm fairly certain you can decipher it." Dipper said holding the paper out to Bill. The demon took it and quickly scanned it. In an instant his eyes flooded with more tears. With a light of his hand the letter was reduced to cinders. In any other case Dipper would be angry at the loss of evidence but for once he was almost glad that letter was gone. The forest was silent now. As they stood there Bill suddenly floated off the ground. Dipper stared at him as he floated away a bit. "Bill? What are your plans now? You're free? What do you intend to do?" Bill said nothing before he disappeared and Dipper's world was encompassed in a white again.

* * *

Pacifica looked up in shock. A flash of light had startled her. Bill's statue was gone. Suddenly a groan made her look to the other side.

"Dipper!" she cried happily rushing to his side. Dipper groaned again.

"What day is it?"

"You've been stone for three days now…" Pacifica said quietly. Dipper huffed and leaned back into the mattress.

"No wonder I'm stiff." Dipper joked weakly. Pacifica laughed anyways. The door to the attic opened and Mabel rushed in.

"Dipper!" Mabel said happily attacking Dipper with a hug. Dipper weakly patted her back.

"I'm fine… just tired." Dipper said leaning into the pillows again. Mabel looked to the other bed and saw that Bill was gone.

"Where's Bill?"

"Who knows? Honestly I don't care. It's his freedom. Anyways… I found out what happened to Pacifica." Dipper said. Mabel and Pacifica fell silent as Dipper took a deep breath.

"It was really a huge misunderstanding… she had always been pushed around by her father… her eldest sister tried to steal Bill away and Bill made a few comments that would sound bad out of context… she was heartbroken… so she threw herself of Presidents Point." Pacifica and Mabel gasped here in horror. "But Bill… he gave up his humanity to save her… but you know Bill, he only deals with weirdness. The magic he used to save her turned her into a flock of red songbirds." Dipper finished tiredly. Pacifica and Mabel were shocked. Mabel opened her mouth to ask a few questions but Pacifica held up her hand.

"You need some rest… we'll leave you alone… sweet dreams." Pacifica said as she and Mabel left the room. Once they were gone Dipper realized just how tired he really was. His eyes dropped and he easily drifted into dreams.

* * *

Dipper was sitting on a picnic blanket beside Pacifica. She was laughing and smiling and Dipper felt his heart race. If only he'd moved passed the awkward phase. As he sat there admiring her, a hand patted him on the shoulder.

"Oh man, you've got it bad my friend." Bill said as he floated though the dream.

"Bill, what are you doing here?"

"I was bored, plus I'm free and I need inspiration for what to do. Dreams give me the best inspiration… Candy has a scary mind." Bill said with a touch of fright. Dipper opened him mouth to berate Bill for doing something immoral when Pacifica pointed to the sky.

"Look Dipper!" and look he did, high above him two phoenixes had begun a mating dance. As the two watched the pair fly around with flames of red and gold trailing behind them Bill looked between the two and chuckled.

"Yeah Pine Tree... You've got it bad." Bill said leaving in a white flash. Dipper looked at the spot he'd been with a slight frown. Suddenly a weight settled on his shoulder. Pacifica was leaning her head on his a shoulder looking at the phoenixes.

"They're beautiful..." she murmured. Dipper looked up at them then sighed before he leaned his own head onto her and placed a hand on her waist.

"Yes you are… I wish I didn't have to leave…" Dipper muttered sadly. Pacifica was oblivious as the phoenixes danced into the twilight.

* * *

Dipper closed his carry compartment on his bike again. He had everything packed. Now it was just a matter of leaving. He wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but it had to be done. As Dipper entered the Mystery Shack again and moved to the kitchen he saw Wendy, Mabel and Pacifica sitting around the table.

"Hey Dipper, just coming to say bye real quick before work. It was great seeing you again man." Wendy said before she walked passed him. He turned to the other two.

"So, are you leaving too Mabel?" Dipper asked. Mabel sighed.

"Yeah, I wish I didn't but there are tons of meetings at the firm…" Mabel sighed. Dipper frowned.

"Mabel... how did you get money exactly?" Dipper asked. Mabel smiled.

"I started a company that makes personalized sweaters as well as knit accessories. I have at least a hundred stores across America." Mabel said. Dipper laughed.

"I should have known." Dipper said with a shake of his head. Mabel smiled before she lit up.

"That's right! I brought one for you!" Mabel said before she attacked Dipper with a wad of wool.

"What! Mabel, quit it! Ow that's my hair! Mabel, stop it!" Dipper exclaimed as Mabel pulled and tugged in various placed. Finally she stepped back. Dipper was wearing a dark green sweater, the same color as a pine tree that read 'Best Brother Ever' in Bill Cipher yellow. Dipper stared at it and huffed.

"Fine… but I'm taking it off when I get home… it's like eighty degrees outside." Dipper complained. Mabel smiled then lifted up two other sweaters.

"I made these for the next family reunion, which you will be coming to." Mabel said with a smile. One was purple with pink lettering the other was red with Orange. The purple one read 'Superior Twin' the red 'Inferior Twin' Dipper made an annoyed face.

"I'm not wearing that." Dipper insisted. Mabel looked at with sadly.

"What? But they're cute."

"I'm a foot taller then you!"

"So! I'm a still superior!" Pacifica watched as the two bickered with a smile on her face. Finally the two seemed to come to an agreement.

"Alright alright! I'll wear the sweater if you entertain cousin Brenda."

"Thanks Dipper!" Mabel said giving him another hug. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"The things I do for you." he muttered. Mabel turned and left the kitchen. Pacifica followed her. Dipper noticed that Pacifica had left his uncle's journal on the table. Pacifica returned to the kitchen a few minutes later. Dipper was filling a water bottle.

"Hey Dipper… what are you gonna tell my cousin? Not the truth I hope…" Pacifica said worriedly. Dipper shook his head.

"Oh no… no I'm going to tell her that Pacifica fell in love and that her and her lover moved to New York under assumed names… they lived happily ever after." Dipper said with a sigh. Pacifica looked a bit sad.

"I wish that were true…" Pacifica murmured.

"As do I…" Dipper replied. He held out Stanford's journal to her. "You left that on the table." Pacifica took it and held it to her chest.

"Thanks." Dipper just nodded and the two left the Mystery Shack. Instantly the mood got more somber. Mabel was standing in front of her pink limo. She walked up to Dipper and gave him a hug.

"Bye." she murmured in his ear. Dipper nodded. As she stood about to go into her limo she stared at him for a few second before she ducked down and the limo drove away. Dipper stood, watching it leave before he turned to Pacifica. He held out a card for her.

"If you ever get out of Gravity Falls… look me up." Dipper said before he stepped back. Pacifica looked at the card and smiled.

"Pacific Pines Investigation Firm... yeah, I'll definitely-" she was cut off as Dipper's bike roared away. She looked up and began running after him, but he was all ready far ahead. Pacifica stood there for a few seconds watching as the leaves fluttered back down to the ground.

* * *

Mabel looked out the window as she passed the Gravity Falls water tower.

* * *

Dipper sighed sadly as he sped up down the road.

* * *

Soos flipped his door sign to closed.

* * *

Wendy wiped up a table before she turned the neon off and shooed two gnomes away from the diner.

* * *

Pacifica walked through the town forlornly before she sat down on a park bench. She reached into her pocket for Stanford's journal. She stared at it for as few seconds before opening it. In-between the page that she had been reading last was as letter addressed to her. Pacifica frowned before she opened it up. It was encrypted with a number cipher. Pacifica frowned for a second before letters began to jump out at her. Slowly but surely Pacifica smiled addressed she figured out the whole message.

 _My Dearest Pacifica,_

 _I know that you'll be mad at me by the time you're reading this, as I have no intention of saying goodbye, but I can't._

 _Goodbye is final._

 _And I don't want this summer to be our last._

 _So I'll offer you a piece of knowledge that I received the summer we met._

Pacifica flipped over the page.

 _See you next summer_

 _You're beloved Dipper Pines_

Pacifica laughed through her tears, looking up from the letter to the sky above. With that she stood, folding the letter gently before she walked through town, on her way to the dingy motel off Whillifred Street. It was awful but she knew she wasn't welcome at the mansion anymore as she all but disowned herself. But as she was walking she noticed something strange. One of the streets had rearranged itself. Where there hadn't been a road was now a quiet street. The buildings had moved so that there was room for it. She walked down the new street in confusion. Finally she reached the end of the street and stared in shock. There at the end of the impossible street was an inn called Illuminati. The 'A' had been replaced with a yellow figure not unlike Bill Cipher. Pacifica took in the address. 0 at Top and Hat Street opening to bowtie lane which Pacifica notice linked up to Main Street next to the inn. Pacifica stared.

"He wouldn't..." she murmured before she stepped into the building. She looked around at the elegant yet homey features of the inn, the grand piano that took centre stage, and the portrait of Pacifica the first as described by Dipper on the wall above it. She looked around in shock.

"Ah Pacifica!" Bill said behind her, causing the woman to jump. Pacifica whipped around to see a tall, thin blond with strange pupils laughing slightly. He was wearing a bow tie and a top hat resting his hands on a cane between his legs.

"Bill?" Pacifica asked in shock. Bill smiled showing all his teeth including strangely sharp canines.

"The one and same… nice huh? Took a bit of dimension morphing but I think I got it perfect." Pacifica noticed that Bill's shadow still showed off his demonic form. But besides that he looked human.

"Hiding in plain sight huh?" Pacifica asked. Bill smiled.

"It's always been my style… room number 1 is yours." Bill said handing her the key. Pacifica looked at it and frowned.

"What's the catch?" she asked. Bill smirked.

"The catch is that I'm not always this generous, just take the room." Bill insisted. Pacifica smiled before she sat at the bar. She opened up the later, staring at the numbers as Bill shifted things around. "I forgot what depth perception felt like." Bill commented as he covered on eye then the other. "It's weird." Pacifica chuckled a bit before she held the letter to her heart and smiled. Outside Gravity Falls life went on.

Maybe Dipper would visit again…

Maybe Mabel would be back…

Maybe life would just keep going…

As the rising moon passed over the illuminati symbol weather vane atop the inn a flock of red songbirds crossed the sky.

 _The End_

* * *

7-12, 14-2, 23-22-26-9-22-8-7, 11-26-24-18-21-18-24-26;

18, 4-18-15-15, 26-15-4-26-2-8, 15-12-5-22, 2-12-6;

2-12-6-9, 25-22-15-12-5-22-23, 25-18-15-15, 24-18-11-19-22-9;

* * *

 _You find yourself in a strange dimension of words that flash by before you can read them_

 **Hey there!**

 _You jump as a purple feather shaped demon with a triangle pupil wearing a black buttoner and hatinator appears_

 **What are you doing in the creativity dimension? Are you lost?**

 _You think for second, realizing that you really have no idea where you are_

 **Oooohhhhhh so you are lost… well then…heh heh heh**

 _The demon is looking at you with a dark look_

 **How bout we settle this nicely… you give me a story and I'll write you free hmmmmmm?**

 _You know you probably won't get out of here without this demon's help so you nod_

 **Alrighty then! Let's shake on it!**

 _She lights her hand aflame the black flames flowing strangely like ink as the demon shudders in anticipation_

A/N: DON'T DO IT!

 **What?! *Gasp* YOOOUUU!**

A/N: don't give her a story, she'll turn it into a crackfic with Mary-Sues and bad OC's!

 **Damn it Canary! Don't you have something better to do?**

A/N: aside from stopping you from stealing my fellow authors good stories… not really.

 **I really hate that…**

A/N: don't I know it, now go away Missy…

 ***Sigh* fine…**

A/N: sorry about her… I went Gravity falls fan fiction searching and I found the demonic guardians AU… I thought it was an awesome story idea and I was instantly mauled by so many plot bunnies I was spitting out fur for days, but the thing is I don't want to write anything for it until the tumblr comic is done… most unfortunately one of the bunnies turned it Missy Script… and now she won't leave me alone!

 **You asked for it! Curiosity killed the cat and fan fiction writer!**

A/N: Missy!

 **Fine fine I'm going I'm going…**

A/N: *groan* I'll never be free of her… anyways… feel free to message me for the answers to all the various ciphers in the fic.

 **Expect much berating you lazy arse!**

A/N: MISSY!

-TheTransfiguredCanary **and Missy Script**

A/N: Missy!

 **What? I helped… a bit… kinda…**

A/N: *face palm* *groan*


End file.
